The present invention relates generally to document handling systems, and more particularly to a novel system for forming labels from a continuous supply of linerless label material and applying the labels in sequential fashion to documents, such as mail pieces, as the documents are conveyed on edge along a predetermined path.
The volume of mail handled daily by large businesses, institutions and government entities, such as the Postal Service, credit card companies, utilities, mail order houses and other advertisers has steadily increased due in part to both an increase in population and a greater volume of business correspondence. Typically, the envelopes containing the material to be mailed are addressed and then sorted into common destination groups for mailing. Similarly, mail received by such entities is commonly sorted into groups based on identifiable subject matter on the received material. A third category of such envelopes is the returned mail category, the creation of which is primarily due to the addressee having moved from a particular address, or a smeared or non-readable bar code, resulting in the envelope being undeliverable. The present invention is directed to a system for solving the latter type problem, namely, the correction of the address and/or destination code on an envelope by application of a secondary label to the envelope, with a correct forwarding address or destination code either pre-printed on the label or applied to the label after it is affixed to the envelope to cover an invalid or non-readable address or bar code. Preferably, the label material inhibits the passage of light, whereby a bar code or address material beneath the label cannot be read by a bar code reader or an optical character reader.
Several different types of machines have been developed to assist in the handling of such mail, other than manual review and correction by an individual mail carrier. These prior art devices typically comprise an envelope feeder, a read station, a label selection station where a supply of labels permits selection of an appropriate label and its application to an envelope, and a sorting and storage device. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,879. While some of the prior art machines and systems have proven satisfactory, many are relatively large unwieldy machines that require not only a large amount of space but also require frequent replenishment of a vast array of pre-printed labels and maintenance of the applicating equipment. Also, labels furnished in a roll or fan where pre-cut labels are adhesively adhered to a substrate are expensive compared to the cost of linerless or substrate-free label material.